Of Monsters and Men
by Ellen Fitzwilliam Brandybuck
Summary: Bill, though confronted with the last semblances of his humanity in the guise of a mysterious woman and child, rejects his past and embraces the powers bestowed by Lilith. Then, after a premonition, he has a chance to alter events that could lead up to the deaths of so many. But will he be able to convince Sookie to marry Warlow?And will he too cheat the true death?BC/OC W/S EN/OC
1. Between a Rock and a Shifter

_I do not own any of the True Blood characters, that is Harris and Ball territory. I only own the OC's presented in this story as well as the story idea. Though this first chapter hints at certain characteristics of characters and plot points but does not explain everything right away, not to worry things will come to light through the storytelling process; though I would hope that would be understood. This initially takes place between season three and four, during the year of Sookie's absence. Then after that it will kick into high gear. I dearly enjoy and welcome critiques and praise, both aid in the creative process._

* * *

Another slimy creature wiggled its way across her skin, making not only her skin pimple with goose bumps but her stomach churn in disgust. Even after all her years of life she still hated slimy creepy crawlies. She also well understood what it was like to be misunderstood based off of traditional stereotypes, but that didn't stop her from immediately wishing away the slime the creepy crawlies were leaving on her skin. She felt the grim and dirt of the rock soak through her clothing, chilling her to the bone. From where her shirt had wiggled up her torso in her struggles, she felt her skin chafe against the cold stone. She was between a rock and a hard place, quite literally. Of course she had no one to blame but herself, but she wasn't about to verbally admit that. Not when HE was standing a few feet away grinning like an idiot.

"When I get out of this, I am going to seriously kick the-"

His laughter filled the small area around her wiggling body, echoing off the damp cave walls and returning to mock her in her anger and frustration. Sine Lindsay clenched her teeth and once more tried to wriggle her body out of the tight spot, but only succeeded in wedging herself even more into the crevice until it was painful to breathe too deeply. While she would've been able to transform and free herself on her own, it wasn't close enough in the cycle to assume her full form, and even then she didn't have the time to wait through the de-transformation before her meeting, thus she'd opted to maintain her human figure. Unlike shifters, she had to allow herself hours if not days to resume the human form, depending upon where in the cycle she was at.

Sine sighed and tapped her fingernails on one of the boulders in frustration. Of all the crazy luck, she had to pick the day she should be on her best behavior, the day she was to make a good impression, to be a hopeless klutz. If her internal clock was correct then she would only have above an hour before sunset during which she could clean up and look partially presentable, and hopefully professional. She needed this job and couldn't afford to let it slip her by.

"Oh Sam would you stop laughing and help me already!" She yelled up at him when he continued to laugh but not move.

She'd contacted him out of desperation, loathing to do it since they'd promised each other only to do so in case of emergency. While her situation wasn't exactly an emergency it was more dire than if she only needed the money for herself. Typically she made enough commission with each job she did take so that she could take some time off. This time off between jobs in turn made her even more sought after since she was seen as exclusive. With a sudden "dependent" thrust into her care, however, she'd had no other choice but to look up her old friend when she couldn't readily find a job in the area. She supposed she could've moved to the other side of the country but this area seemed the best to lie low in for the time being.

Of course "dependent" wasn't exactly the term she should use for a precocious eight year old. The girl, Caroline, had been placed in Sine's care, or at least Sine had assumed care for her after Sine had witnessed the massacre of the rest of the girl's family. Had she not transformed and "abducted" the girl from her captors, the girl would most likely have been robbed of any semblance of a normal life and would now be under the knife of ruthless fanatics.

Being far from normal, and with powers Sine still did not fully understand, Caroline for the most part exhibited a typical eight year old mentality and habits. This had been quite the adjustment for Sine to make, having lost her own family eons before and for the most part living her life since then only in the company of adults. However, after the three months they'd had together since the incident, Sine believed they'd fallen into a routine and were growing closer by the day. Of course, her leaving Caroline with a babysitter in the next town over while she had a job interview today had been difficult for Caroline to swallow.

It was only because of Caroline's needs that Sine had contacted Sam. Thankfully he hadn't sounded upset with her on the phone and had even invited her to come and stay with him for a bit as a result of her inquiry. With Caroline in the picture, Sine felt that wasn't the best idea and so they'd instead met for coffee a couple of weeks prior. It was then that he'd told her of his life in Bon Temps, all the strange happenings of the place, and then of the job she could have if she really wanted it.

She didn't particularly like associating with supes on a regular basis, mostly because it also put her under the microscope of society and she really didn't want to have to deal with the fallout if her true nature was discovered as a byproduct of that. However, again because of Caroline, she had given Sam her contact information and resume to pass on to her possible future employer and had received the invitation for an interview two days before.

Once in town, with hours to spare, Sine had gone exploring while Sam had been too busy at work to chill with her. Though he'd warned her not to get too curious in her explorations, what else did he expect her to do in a new area known for its sink holes and caves alongside its swamps and rivers? Sine had used her senses to find this cave, the walls covered with moss and lichen, making a natural pallet of colors for a masterful painting. Since the entrance had not required special gear and the cave itself had not required her to hunch over, she'd decided to further explore it. It was all very natural for her to explore the cave, it was instinctive for her after all, as caves were in her blood so to speak, so in a way it was his fault she was now stuck.

It had been to her delight that she had later found a small waterfall bursting out through a crevice in the cavern walls. The mist from the cascade had immediately drenched her once pristine white dress shirt and soaked her black dress pants, plastering her clothing to her body. She had figured she could dry later and so had taken off her shoes, rolled up her pants, folded up and set aside her shirt to reveal her tan undershirt, and went further in to explore. It was while she had been rock hoping at the base of the waterfall that she'd slipped and lodged her body between two large boulders. Now the undershirt was dirty and torn, and her pants were in similar condition.

His chuckling continued but the noise of it also traveled, alerting her to his approach, "Okay, so maybe I won't kick anything out of you! But I will give you a run for your money!" Sine called over her shoulder to Sam.

"You're lucky you had your phone within reach or else I wouldn't even be here." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "I warned you not to explore today, I told you explicitly to ignore that general tendency of yours, if only because you had the meeting tonight. If you had listened to me then you wouldn't be here now would you," his chastising voice set her teeth on edge and further deepened the desire she held to lodge her foot up his— "How exactly did you get in there?" his voice cut through her delightful thoughts of torture, bringing her back to her precarious position.

Sine sighed and attempted to glare at him over her shoulder, "You're the shifter, Sam, you figure it out! What does it matter _how_ I got down here anyway, just find a way to get me out of here before I'm late to my meeting! Remember you told me to be on my best behavior since he's old fashioned and to try to make a good impression…well good impressions are out the window unless you help me out here."

* * *

Sam Merlotte shook his head as he finished his rock hoping to stand just in front of Sine. He had forgotten just how klutzy Sine could be when she put her mind to it. She did everything with gusto and passion, and that included making mistakes. Very rarely had he known her to half-ass anything. Of course, the last time he'd spent significant time in her presence had been some years ago but it seemed not much had changed in that time.

"Oh would you stop gawking and do something Sam." Sine growled through her teeth. "You know I need this job. You can make fun of me and further tease me AFTER you get me out of this mess."

Sam gave her a half smile and nodded. He carefully picked his way around the boulders, trying to see if there was a wedge point he could work with. Not surprisingly, there was very little he could do in his present form to help her. He would have to shift to be of any use; however he couldn't decide what it was he needed to shift into.

As he studied the rocks, and with it Sine's position between them, he allowed his mind to drift back to his first encounters with her. They'd met at a café in an art district years before, both trying desperately to get a job there. Naturally competition had sprung up between them during their trial period and perhaps because of that, and the mutual sabotaging of each other's work, they were both turned down and ended up jobless, and in both their cases homeless as well.

Finding a sort of kindred spirit in one another as a result, which had surprised Sam at how easy it had been to get over his typical mistrust and actually enjoy her presence, they'd ended up bumming around town looking for jobs, and had eventually become roommates in a flat as well. He couldn't quite remember if there'd ever been sexual tension between them, it had never been brought up or explored if there ever had been at least. But it was during that time that she'd discovered his shifting capabilities by accident, and hadn't judged him or feared him as a result. Of course, he'd also discovered her unique nature as well when she'd rescued him from a rather dire situation even his shifting capabilities hadn't been able to get him out of.

It'd taken him some time to get over his initial shock as he'd for so long thought that only he was so different from the rest of humanity-this had been before vampires had outed themselves; it'd also taken him time to not fear for his life around her, while she was in her natural form, even though she'd never once tried to harm him. But once she'd resumed her human state again, and had explained a few things about herself to him, he'd gotten over himself and adjusted his stereotypes against creatures such as she; millennium of societal training drummed into his head through media was difficult to get over but eventually they'd been able to jump that hurdle.

Soon after that, though, he'd felt the need to move on and so they'd said their farewells. She warned/assured him that she'd always be able to find him so if he ever had need of her help she'd be there. He'd in turn given her the general location of where he'd been headed and apparently she'd made good on her warning and had found him after all. He wasn't disappointed by that fact; she was one of the only people he could remember calling friend and not worrying about it in return.

"Well?" she spoke over her shoulder. "What's to be done?"

Sam looked up at her face and had to bite his lips to keep from smiling when he again saw all the grime smeared on her face. Usually Sine was quite attractive, with large, almond shaped, blue/green eyes that resembled the sea in how they could be calm then stormy in seconds. She had long auburn hair with black streaks, one of the oddest natural combinations of hair colors that Sam had ever seen, offset by ivory skin. Though her complexion was beautiful, she did have countless scars marring the rest of her body, but somehow this just added to her beauty, at least in his opinion.

"I'm going to have to shift in order to get these things to move. How close are you in your cycle?" He knew that she knew what he meant but with every other female he spoke to that particular word meant something else entirely and because of that his lips quirked up in a smirk.

She rolled her eyes in response, "IF I cycled like human females I'd probably be PMSing right now but since you're referring to my other cycle then I can tell you I'm not close enough to assume my full form but close enough to assume one that would take over four hours to return to human form from."

"Well, then I guess that means I'm going to have to be your knight in shining armor."

Sine snorted in response but kept her mouth shut, allowing Sam the silence during which he could get creative with his shifting. It took some time but within a half hour Sine was free and scrambling back towards the entrance laughing at her rediscovered freedom while Sam was on the ground with a headache.

"I can't believe you tried to break the rock with your head." Sine called over her shoulder once they were back by their respective cars. "I mean I know you're hard headed but even a mountain goat has its weaknesses. I mean-"

"So where's Caroline?" Sam countered, swallowing the ibuprofen he'd found in his truck.

Sine smiled at Sam's attempt to dissuade her teasing but followed along, "I left her with a babysitter. She was none too happy with that but promised to be on her best behavior since I told her I had to do this for us both, so that we could keep low and stay hidden."

Sam nodded. Taking in Sine's disheveled appearance again he shook his head. He opened the door to his truck further and rummaged around in the back seat until he found what he was looking for. He tossed the shirt and pants in Sine's direction without warning but unsurprisingly she caught both without a problem. Her reflexes were good despite her gracefulness being bad.

"I've got a belt in case you need one, but at least the shirt is clean and relatively presentable." He indicated the plaid button-down with a nod of his head. "And they're both a better option than what you've got on now, unless you packed a change of clothes in that contraption of yours."

Sine smirked as she again kicked off her shoes and began to undress, not caring that Sam was still looking in her direction, "It's a hybrid Sam, not a contraption. And no I didn't pack a change of clothes in here. Caroline had an episode right before I dropped her off at the babysitter's and that made me forget."

Sam sighed and turned around to give her the privacy she obviously didn't think she needed. He'd forgotten how open Sine was with nudity and bodily functions. At her age and after the things she'd seen, it shouldn't have surprised Sam, but after so many years apart he found he'd grown out of their old habits.

While he listened to the sounds of Sine grunting, her wet clothes difficult to discard, he thought of the girl that Sine had become guardian too. They'd lived in a town Sine had taken up residence in, for a job she'd said, and in that town there'd been quite a few fanatical vampire haters. As Sine had explained, the girl's family had begun purchasing Tru Blood and the fanatics had assumed the worst. Sine said that the attack had been too meticulous to be the work of mere vampire haters though. The bodies of the parents had been bagged up and the attackers had been in the process of restraining Caroline when Sine had transformed and rescued the girl before her attackers could take her away.

The results of this had not been pretty. Sine had had to keep the girl locked up to keep her nearby while she went through the process of resuming her human form and even after she'd resumed it and explained things to her, the girl had resented Sine and had proven difficult to handle. Though Sam still didn't understand how, the girl apparently had the ability to dissolve her body into what Sine described as a mist. She'd never shifted into an animal or another person, but had instead only been able to disintegrate into that mist. Whenever Caroline hadn't wanted to listen to Sine or was angry with Sine she would retreat into this form and remain that way for hours until finally her body was too tired to maintain the form and she reformed into her regular state again. Sam assumed this is what Sine meant by an episode.

"I'm decent you old prude." Sam turned around and choked back a laugh. His shirt fit her well enough as they had similar shoulder widths, but his pants fit oddly. With her feminine curves it fit in areas it shouldn't while hung loose in areas it should. "What time is it?"

Sam glanced at his watch then up at the sky, "Sundown in about forty. We're about fifteen minutes from town. You're going to have to do something with your hair."

"What?" Sine shook her head, the caked bits of mud and cave muck clicking together in her long tresses. "You don't think this adds to the ensemble?" At his look Sine sighed. "Is your place close enough that I can use your shower?"

"Yeah, but we'll have to hurry."

* * *

Hurry didn't begin to describe the blur Sine went through the following thirty minutes. She was thankful that the speed limit of Bon Temps didn't seem to be aggressively enforced. She was also glad that while she took a shower Sam attempted to get her own clothes clean. Sadly by the time she left, only her original blouse was salvageable, the pants and undershirt had been ripped beyond Sam's repair expertise. At least her hair had been plaited and pinned and she looked fairly respectable when she followed Sam's directions towards the old plantation her possible employer owned.

The land she drove over reeked of history and instead of being intimidating by it, Sine found it reassuring. She herself was a walking history textbook and always found herself drawn to areas of significant history. Though she didn't want to get ahead of herself, she began to envision working in this area, the commute she would have to do, the pros and cons of working in such a place. By the time she drew up in front of the antebellum plantation home, Sine was already thinking of the resources she'd need to find in the area to continue the home study program she had Caroline enrolled in.

There were no lights on in the house once she parked her car and moved towards the front steps. It was just past dusk and perhaps the owner had not yet risen. Sine allowed herself time to study the house itself before she moved up the steps. Even in the dying light she could make out its shape and based off her her knowledge of and work on plantation homes in this area of Louisiana, she guesstimated at its internal layout. It was beautiful though obviously, and in her case thankfully, in need of repair. Already her mind was spinning with possibilities for the renovation and her fingers itched to start drawing them out. But, she though as she took a deep breath and let it out, there was no use of getting ahead of herself. She'd purposefully left her scratchpad in the car and had only brought her portfolio for the interview.

A light went on in the house, followed soon after by a porch light. Sine squared her shoulders and moved up the last of the steps. It was time.


	2. Rube Goldberg Meets Bill Compton

_This is still set in the year of Sookie's faerie trip. I do not own any of the True Blood characters, only my own and this story idea. I welcome critiques as they are fodder for more work. Please let me know what you like and/or dislike. _

* * *

He woke knowing that the house was a mess. The renovations were to take another three months before everything was complete but Bill didn't know if he could handle living in such chaos for that much longer. Having his living quarters in disarray did nothing to aid in keeping his wits about him while the state went through the transitioning of power from the former queen to himself. While he understood and appreciated the fact that both a day crew and a night crew were at work on the house, it allowed him very little peace and quiet when he was up and about.

Jessica had commented on his haggard looks a few days before but he'd brushed off her concern by redirecting her attention to her own troubles with Hoyt. The poor girl was still struggling with fitting into the niche she expected of herself as Hoyt's girlfriend while Hoyt appeared to still be adjusting to having two women in his life, Jessica and his mother. Bill hoped that everything would work out for the two of them but his more cynical side foretold otherwise.

He emerged from his room and into the corridor turned freeway just in time to duck underneath a wooden beam, transported between two vampire construction workers. The architect had assured him that she did not discriminate in her hiring in any way, and that included supes. He admired her sense of equity, a trait that came rare in humanity these days.

Once the vampires realized what had almost happened, they mumbled their apologies before moving on. Bill brushed off the imaginary dirt the beam left behind before he started down the steps towards his office. He'd insisted that his office be the first room fully finished, that way at least one room in the house could be orderly. The architect had not argued, but had concurred instead. She'd proven surprisingly alert towards his desires and adept at solving issues before he had to voice a concern about them.

All around him the house buzzed with the sounds of work and his sensitive ears craved the silence of his study. It was specially designed so that by the press of a button on his desk he could fully soundproof the room by sealing it off from the rest of the house. An impressive feat he'd not thought of himself but that the architect had suggested to him.

Before hiring her, Bill had carefully laid out his desired specifications for each room of the house and had been impressed with her quick solutions to each hypothetical problem he'd laid before her; she'd even presented more efficient alternatives to the solutions he'd already drawn up. By the time their initial interview had been completed some two months before, he'd known she was the right one for the job.

Upon first seeing her, Bill had been reluctant to hire her. Though he knew he now lived in a different time, it was difficult for him to accept that a young, attractive woman could have such a well established vocation. Even though Sam had highly praised her work he'd found it hard to believe that she could have accomplished enough to have earned such praise from the shifter, or from others. After his own research on her, he'd found her past work to be not only aesthetically pleasing but also efficient and the big names attached to some of her previous jobs had him raising his eyebrows in surprise.

Since he'd hired her, she'd been very professional and had ensured that all her crew would be equally professional. He had nothing really to complain about, other than the noise and chaos, but that couldn't be helped. He paused at the bottom of the steps and listened. It didn't take long before he heard her distinctively husky voice, somewhere in the back of the house. He appreciated her work ethic, showing up every night of the job to do a walk thru with him so that he could see the step by step process, and also so he could alter anything right away if he didn't like it.

He pushed open his study and moved inside but stopped in his tracks almost immediately. Spread upon the floor before him was what looked to be a chaotic mess of marbles, tubes and wires. He heard a noise in the corner and turned to confront the maker of the new found chaos. Bill found himself speechless when a small girl blinked at him, her face devoid of any fear, even when confronted with an agitated vampire. Her hair was brown and wavy and her eyes of similar color, her round face still had the baby fat of youth in the cheeks, though her young body was lithe. Though a stranger, there was something about her that seemed familiar.

"Hello." She spoke first, her voice clear. "I'm Caroline." Bill jerked back as if struck and the earlier sense of familiarity explained itself. She looked to be a young version of his wife, and in having her name as well, Bill could not but help wondering if something was amiss. The girl continued speaking as if this encounter was completely normal. "I was making a Rube Goldberg machine." Bill could never have imagined his wife saying anything of that sort, even as a child, and so quickly dispelled the ridiculous notion that she'd been reincarnated or sent to haunt him. As he further studied her, she looked at the mess on the floor for a moment before looking back up to his face. "Well, at least I was trying to make a Rube Goldberg machine. Sine said I needed to have it done by sundown otherwise I'd get a zero on the assignment. I couldn't get the wires right and I left some of the parts back at the hotel so I couldn't finish it anyway."

Bill shook his head to reorient himself, "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Caroline." The girl looked at him as if she found him to be a simpleton.

"I heard your name, Caroline," Bill moved further into the room, careful to avoid the many piles of items, "but that doesn't answer the question of who you are or why you are in my study."

"I was making a Rube Goldberg machine." She pointed to the piles of items to emphasize her words. "This is the only room that isn't being worked on so Sine said I could work in here until sundown but then I'd have to pack up and go wait in the car." The girl's eyes widened. "Wait, is it sundown?"

Bill found himself smiling at the waif despite his confusion, "Yes, Caroline it is sundown. Now, who do you belong to?"

"I don't belong to anyone." The girl crossed her arms across her chest and jutted her chin out in defiance. "Ever since those vampire haters killed my parents Sine has been taking care of me."

Bill frowned. "I'm sorry, what-"

"Oh." He looked over to the door of the study to see the architect standing there. Her face held a guilty expression and he suddenly realized that this Caroline belonged to her. He'd never used the architect's given name when addressing her and so had not yet made the connection. "I'm so sorry Mister Compton. I thought she'd have packed everything up by now." Sine came more fully into the room, reaching down to grab a box he'd not seen close to the door. "We'll have this cleaned up and out of the way in no time."

"I didn't finish it." Caroline still hadn't moved from the corner, Bill noticed, while Sine had begun to pick up the items and toss them into the box.

Sine paused, "You didn't?" Caroline shook her head and from the way her lower lip quivered Bill was surprised the woman didn't immediately give in and hand the child a candy bar; he'd been tempted to. "Well, you know you're going to get a zero then." The girl nodded, her lip no longer quivering.

"Miss Lindsey," Bill found himself interrupting the exchange, "why is it that I've never met your," he glanced at Caroline a moment before continuing, "ward before?"

Sine looked at Caroline as well, her expression masked from Bill's perusal. Caroline avoided Sine's eye contact by studying her feet. It was a moment before Sine responded. "I normally don't have to bring her, as she's with the sitter or asleep while I'm here, but tonight the sitter was busy and there was no one else who could help." Sine stood to her full height, eye level with himself, and offered him an apologetic smile. "I am sorry for the inconvenience Mister Compton. I'd hoped that you wouldn't be bothered and she could be out of the way without any fuss. The sitter promised this wouldn't happen again but that it couldn't have been avoided tonight."

Bill looked towards Caroline while Sine explained and noticed how the girl frowned when the sitter was mentioned. From her earlier act of defiance when questioned about belonging to someone, Bill had the distinct impression that she did not like being passed off to a sitter almost as much as she didn't like the idea of belonging to someone. Then there was the mystery of the "vampire haters" in regards to who had killed her parents; why would fanatics seek to harm a little human girl and her parents? And how was it that this woman had ended up in charge of her after that? There was something much more going on here than met the eye and Bill's instinctive curiosity was piqued because of that.

"Come along, Caroline," Sine shook the box she still held, rattling its contents, "clean up your mess." The girl finally shuffled out of the corner and stooped to pick up the items. "I'm just about ready to do the walk thru, Mister Compton, and then Caroline and I will be out of your hair."

Bill smiled, "This has been no trouble, Miss Lindsey, only a surprise." He caught Caroline watching him, her gaze surprisingly alert and discerning for someone her age. "In fact, should a similar situation arise please know that young Caroline is welcome to return, so long as her assignments or experiments or what have you remain well contained and not disruptive."

"Mister Compton." Sine's eyes widened with what he assumed was surprise. "There is no need, I mean thank you very much, but really-"

"I insist, Miss Lindsey. I know you are a paid contract worker but I believe you have thus far gone above and beyond what most would have done given the time frame you have to work with. Your professionalism and hard work are to be rewarded." Bill nodded towards Caroline. "Besides, I have the distinct impression that young Caroline would much rather be here in the midst of this chaos than with a boring old sitter."

Caroline eagerly nodded her head but quieted her enthusiasm when Sine sent her a glare. "Can I come tomorrow?" Caroline asked then, the excitement and hope not at all disguised from her voice.

"Caroline," Sine thrust the box into the girl's hands, "Mister Compton said if a similar situation should arise, not every night until the job is finished." Caroline glared up at Sine in response, who in turn glared down at her, until finally the little girl sighed and went about collecting the leftovers of her failed Rube Goldberg machine, whatever that was. Sine turned back towards him, "While she's cleaning up would you care to do the walk thru?"

* * *

When her foreman had told her of Compton's awakening, Sine had nearly dropped the blueprints she'd been studying with a few of her crew in the back pantry area. He'd gotten up earlier than normal. She'd come to know his routine quite well over the few months she'd worked for him and she'd hoped to have made it to Caroline before him but obviously had not.

Compton had surprised her, though, with his apparent ease with Caroline and Caroline too had surprised Sine with the fact that she'd been voluntarily engaging the man in conversation prior to her arrival. It had taken three visits with Sam before Caroline had voluntarily offered up any sort of conversation with him. That Compton not been bothered by Caroline's invasion of his study, or Sine's overstepping of professional bounds by mixing professional with personal had also been surprising, and comforting.

As she walked him through the house, showing him the changes he'd requested a few days before as well as the ones she'd suggested, she found her eyes traveling over his form a bit more than normal. Once he'd hired her she'd stamped down any thoughts of him as a man, even though initially she'd found him attractive, and had only thought of his as an employer; she never liked to mix business with pleasure. Now that he'd shown a softer side, a more "human" side for lack of a better word for it, she couldn't help but notice a few things about his visage.

Tonight he wore a simple black button down shirt and matching black pants, but even though he was clothed she could clearly detect the muscles in his shoulders and thighs as they bunched up and released with every movement he made. His body rippled with controlled movements, almost as if he calculated every single muscle twitch. It wouldn't have surprised her if he did, given that he'd been elected vampire king of the state the month before.

"The changes are spot on, as I expected, Miss Lindsey." Sine liked his accent and even his antiquated mannerisms were attractive; it reminded her of a bygone era that she sometimes missed dearly. "You've not made me regret my decision to hire you yet."

Sine smiled, "Thank you Mister Compton, I hope I continue to live up to such praise." She glanced over her shoulder to see Caroline carrying the box towards the door; one of the workers opened it for her and helped her out towards the car. "Also, about Caroline, I-"

"I meant what I said Miss Lindsey." He interrupted her. "My own progeny, Jessica, lives elsewhere and so I have little chance for pleasant company while I'm here." He was obviously skirting over the numerous nights that he'd left for meetings required of him by his new position, or the fact that she sensed a tenseness about him, also because of the position. "The company would not be tiresome as she appears to be a most intriguing young lady."

"Intriguing? That's a polite way of saying it." Sine shook her head, resisting the urge to give a heartfelt sigh. "She told you I was her guardian?"

Compton reached out and lightly placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed against her. Sine was confused for a moment when he stepped closer, into her personal space, but when she saw two of her workers move behind him in the narrow corridor she understood. Compton waited until the workers were past before he let go and stepped away. He gave her an apologetic smile which she in turn nodded at.

"When I asked who she belonged to she made it quite clear that she didn't belong to anyone." He glanced to either side and Sine had the impression that he was about to ask something personal. "She did mention that you'd been looking after her ever since the 'vampire haters' killed her parents." Sine fought the rush of panic and made sure she kept her breathing normal when Compton brought his eyes back to study her as he continued. "Do you know what she meant by that?"

Sine would have to have a heart-to-heart with Caroline later but in the meantime she did some damage control. "Her parents were killed by fanatics almost a year ago now. She was entrusted to my care after the fact."

"Why did she call them vampire haters?" He again stepped into her personal space but this time it had nothing to do with workers. From the way he'd tipped his chin down and leveled his gaze Sine got the distinct impression that he would attempt to glamour her if she said anything worth glamouring about.

"Would it have mattered if she'd called them immigrant haters?" Sine countered, mindful of her tone of voice and body language. "Her parents are dead and she is in my care. It is a tragedy all around but we are both working hard to stay sane through it." She thought for a moment for something, anything, that could divert his attention. "I know she doesn't like my leaving her with the sitter, as I'm the only support system she has, but there is little else to be done until the job is finished. So again, thank you for your offer Mister Compton, I know she will think the world of you because of that and I too am most appreciative."

Compton kept up his intense gaze and personal space invasion for a moment longer before suddenly he backed away and gave her a smooth smile, "My condolences to both you and the child. As I said before, she is always welcome." He looked towards the door and Sine followed his gaze to see Caroline leaning against the doorframe staring at them both with a bored expression. "I do think she is ready to leave now."

"Yes," Sine nodded, "Goodnight Mister Compton. I'll see you tomorrow." She gave him another nod before turning and heading towards the door.

Caroline waved and Sine glanced over her shoulder to see that Compton nodded and smiled in return. When Caroline looked up towards Sine, Sine saw a glimmer inside the girl's eyes that hadn't been there before. Though brief, the encounter with Compton had been enough to get the girl out of her shell, if only temporarily. Though she still loathed to mix personal with professional, Sine suddenly hoped that the baby sitter would again have to cancel on her, just so she would have an excuse to bring Caroline back. People would probably find her crazy for thinking it, but perhaps Caroline's association with the Civil War veteran vampire would be good for her.


	3. Here There Be Dragons

_I only own the concepts of the OC's and this particular SL. All others belong to Harris and Ball and, well, you know the drill. Please let me know what you like and dislike about the story, I appreciate reviews. Also let me know what what you'd like to see "fixed" from the seventh season as I'm sure I'm not the only one who felt cheated by its ending for many of the beloved characters._

* * *

Sine knew she was dream walking. The beginning of dream walks always made her feel like she was buried beneath a mountain, her lungs screaming for air, and her body struggling for movement, but then she would feel like she was floating, eerily gliding through nothingness.

In the eerie nothingness that she'd grown used to she glimpsed a small shaft of light and knew immediately that it was not her dream she'd be walking through. In the light, she the outline of a little girl and knew instinctively who it was. She wanted to claw her way outside of the dream, not wanting to relive a moment with this girl as it brought too much pain, and yet with the same desperate longing she wanted to stay.

The girl was thrashing around the room, tearing at the walls with sharp talons on her hands and bare feet, biting at the door with lengthened teeth, howling and screeching like a tortured animal, and crying blood red tears. Sine watched as the girl's skin morphed into a scale like texture one moment only to resume its human form the next.

Suddenly a voice echoed in the room, "Now, now, dear, that's no way to act. You must be a good girl before we can give you supper."

The girl ceased all movement and sound as she glared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before crouching down. Sine next watched the girl "climb" up the air until she sank her talons into the ceiling and bite into the camera that monitored her actions. An electrical shock went through the girl but this seemed to infuse her with more anger and she slammed her fist through the ceiling into the wires that ran throughout it. She ripped out a large section of the wiring, shredding it with her teeth and talons, screaming and howling at the top of her lungs. Blood was staining the ceiling from her cutting herself. Next, she leapt at the lighting fixture, punching through the protective covering and ripping the lights to shreds, earning herself more shocks and screaming loudly all the more.

Suddenly a portion of the wall opened and a small boy was pushed in. Emergency lighting, grotesquely red, flickered before coming fully on, casting the girl and boy in a sort of hellish color. The feral girl glared down at him, her teeth bared. The little boy was no older than the girl and yet she seemed to make no association from the way she began to pace around the ceiling, eyeing him like prey. Her body rippled with power, her muscles much too defined for a girl her age.

"There's a good girl," the menacing voice echoed again, making the girl jump down and crouch in a corner like a frightened animal, "Eat supper like the little dragon that you are."

The little boy's eyes widened and he stared at the girl with fear and horror clearly written on his face. In the moment their eyes met the girl seemed to calm enough to look apologetic and ashamed but in the next moment Sine watched, with tears burning her eyes, as the little girl's body transformed entirely and she launched across the room and sank her elongated jaws into the screaming boy's neck, draining him of his life. As the boy's screams and struggles began to wane, the girl's red rimmed black eyes met Sine's, and Sine felt her gut clench and her heart plummet to the bottom of her soul.

"SINE!" Caroline's voice cut through the dream and brought her back to reality.

Sine jerked awake and stared at Caroline with unseeing eyes for a few moments, the bile in her throat from the memory/dream still threatening to spill out of her mouth. It had been some time since she'd had a dream of that intensity and the fact that she'd had one put her on immediate alert. It wasn't her dream, and it hadn't been her memory. That'd been from a time she'd been absent, the girl already taken from her life. The only person who would have known of that time or had a dream of that would be-

"What?" she interrupted her own train of thought, her voice hoarse and scratchy.

Caroline pushed a cup of water into her hands, "You were screaming so loud I thought the police would come." Caroline sat back on her haunches and Sine noticed for the first time that the girl had crawled up into Sine's bed and now sat on the mattress next to her. "Was it a bad dream?"

"It was worse than a dream, Caroline." Sine sat up against her pillows so she could gargle the water a bit to sooth the soreness. She swallowed then continued, "It was a memory, of sorts."

"I have that too." Caroline glanced at the extra pillows beside Sine's body then glanced back to Sine, as if awaiting an invitation. Sine nodded and almost immediately Caroline was tucked into the bed beside her. There was still some space between their bodies but they were both propped up, the covers up to their waists. "I don't scream like you though. At least I don't think I do. Do I?"

Sine shook her head, "No you don't, but you have cried." She didn't know if she should have told the girl that or not but figured why not, considering the roles had been reversed and she'd waken her from a nightmare. "Are they memories of when your parents were killed?"

"Yeah." Caroline looked down to the covers and began picking at some of the lose thread. "Sine?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did they kill my parents?"

Sine looked down at her glass of water and wished it was something stronger.

"I know you know why but why haven't you told me?" Caroline added when Sine didn't immediately respond.

Sine sighed and placed the glass on her bedside stand. "You already know that you are different from most children. You have unique abilities and unique needs." She waited until Caroline nodded her head before she continued. "Some people are afraid of that uniqueness. They assume that something different is something bad." She knew that sentiment intimately herself.

"So they killed my parents because of me?"

Sine winced. Should she lie and say otherwise when that was in fact true? She looked over to the girl and saw no trace of tears or a threatening of them. She saw open curiosity and determination, fear as well, but mostly determination. She could understand that sense; the desire to understand something horrid even if she'd been the reason it'd happened.

"I can't say one hundred percent that they killed your parents because of you. I think that if your father hadn't tried to fight back or your mother tried to fight them off once they'd wounded your father, then maybe they might've tried to merely kidnap all of you. Now, that being said, do I think they would've killed all of you once they'd gotten what it was they'd wanted out of you? Yes, I do think that." She continued to watch the girl's face as she spoke, to see how the girl would react to her words. So far, the face remained the same, breathing rate as well.

"Do you think they wanted to know if my parents were like me?"

"Yes, I do. I don't think they knew everything about you, what exactly you were capable of, but they did know you were different enough to think you a threat. They naturally assumed that your parents would be similar if not the same as you."

Caroline was quiet a moment before she spoke again, "Do you think it was the Tru Blood?"

"What do you mean?"

"My parents only started buying that the last few months before the," Caroline halted in her speech pattern as if the words were difficult to form but after a deep breath continued, "before the attack. I couldn't eat anything anymore and they couldn't afford to take me into the hospital. It was my father's idea."

Sine nodded. She too continued to buy the blood replacement for Caroline. She exhibited no aversion to sunlight, had developed no elongated incisors, and in general had no traits similar to vampires other than her dependence upon blood for sustenance. Sine knew perfectly well that vampires were not the only things that went "bump" in the night and for her to accept that there was something else, namely something like Caroline, out there was easy enough.

Most likely Caroline was the product of environmental exposure to various genetic elements through many generations; perhaps even experimentation as Sine's own digging into Caroline's family's past had shown members from both sides being held prisoner during World War I and World War II, as well as Vietnam. There was any number of things that could lead to the creation of Caroline's abilities. Thus far they'd not been aggressive or harmful to others; mostly defensive. Sine was curious how they'd develop in the future though, and only hoped she could be of some use to the girl when she needed to be.

"What was your dream about?" Caroline's question brought Sine's thoughts back to the present.

She weighed the pros and cons of lying to the girl or diverting her away but then she thought of how much the girl had been forced to share with Sine out of necessity as well as her continued dependence upon her. Like it or not, they were going to be together for some time to come. The girl needed to know more about her than her own abilities and "otherness" if she was going to fully trust her judgment in regards to her rearing.

With that in mind Sine spoke, "I dreamt of one of my descendents."

"One of your what's?"

"Descendents, someone who is related to me but distantly because of the passage of time. Caroline, I'm much older than I look."

Caroline raised her eyebrows, "Like how old?"

"Like I know exactly whether or not Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland because I was there."

"Saint Patrick?" Caroline tipped her head to the side in thought. "Saint Patrick's day Saint Patrick? He was real?"

Sine chuckled, "Yeah he was real. He was rather attractive too, for a priest."

"How long ago was that?"

"You do know that it's rude to ask a woman her age and or weight?"

"How long?" Caroline insisted, rolling her eyes at Sine's attempt to dissuade her.

"About sixteen hundred years."

Caroline's mouth dropped open, "You've been alive for sixteen hundred years? Don't you get bored?"

"Well, yes, if I'd been awake for all sixteen hundred years I suppose I'd have gotten bored." Sine was laughing in spite of the seriousness of the conversation. "But my race can sleep for long periods of time. In fact, when I'm in my normal form I don't need to sleep like humans do; I can stay awake constantly. But that leads up to my wanting to sleep for months, if not years, at a time to make up for that. When I'm in human form, because it takes constant concentration, I need sleep just as much if not more than regular humans."

"You've slept for years before?" Caroline asked and waited until Sine nodded before she voiced her next question. "What's the longest that you've slept?"

Sine had to think for a while before she could answer, "I think the longest was about eighty years."

"Eighty years?" Caroline shrieked and Sine laughed at the look of absolute shock on the little girl's face. "How can you, I mean, where can you sleep for eighty years without anyone bothering you?"

"Oh Caroline, there are still many places humans have not explored on this great world and I can assure you that right now there are least a dozen more of my kind asleep somewhere."

Caroline shook her head, her brain most likely struggling to keep up with the numbers, let alone reconcile them to the image of Sine herself. Sine was left to contemplate her dream. Of course the holder of the dream could be anywhere within a three hundred mile radius and they may not have sensed her presence within the dream as well, but then again they may have. If they did, Sine frowned to herself at the thought, then she'd have to finish the job in Bon Temps by digital communication and vacate the area as soon as possible. She didn't want to expose Caroline to any more violence and the bearer of that particular dream was a guarantee for such.

"So are you a dragon?" Caroline's voice was quiet, as if she were afraid to offend Sine by using such a term.

Sine smiled, "We've been called monsters and dragons, but also lindworms, and wyverns, and drakes, and demons. Actually society's understanding of dragons is partially based in fact from various encounters regular humans have had with us over the years. This has fed into the myths and fairy tales that you've grown up with. But just as there are many different races of humans on earth, there are just as many different races of dragons if you will. Some of us have four legs, some two; some fly and some don't; some are mammoth size and some are no bigger than a cat." Caroline's eyes were huge and again Sine noticed the glimmer in them that she'd seen earlier that evening when she'd been talking with Compton. The girl was no longer thinking of her own pain as she was too engrossed in something else. Perhaps it had been a good choice to reveal so much to her. "Also just as you have good people and bad people, you have good dragons and you have bad dragons."

"So you're a good dragon, and you can fly, and you have four legs." Caroline spoke with confidence, relying upon her memory of Sine's rescue near a year before. "You're also pretty, as a dragon I mean. I thought you were a weird looking flying red and black horse, with a lizard tail and eagle claws, when I first saw you coming out of the sky."

Sine smiled, though the smile was sad, "Well I'm glad I didn't frighten you when I was in my normal form. However I do need to say that I would not ever claim to be wholly good. There have been things that I've done, that I felt I had to do in my lifetime that I would not want to reveal to you or anyone else for that matter." Caroline's eyes were much more discerning than an eight year olds should be and Sine attributed that to reason she was revealing so much; that and also the fact that she'd not had a close companion to talk to in many years. "I'll be honest with you Caroline, in that taking care of you, I know I can't fix the mistakes I've made in the past, but I do hope that I've learned from them and can teach you how to avoid them."

"Redemption right?" Caroline rubbed at her eyes, sleepiness creeping in despite her interest in the conversation. "Is that the right word?"

Sine nodded, "Yes that's the right word."

Caroline nodded before shifting down more against the pillows. She'd apparently made the decision to share Sine's bed without asking. Sine didn't particularly mind, they only had the two double beds in the hotel room so it wasn't as if she'd been sleeping with any privacy anyway. She leaned over and flipped the bedside lamp off, Caroline must've turned it on earlier, before she too shifted downward on the bed. She was just about to roll over and attempt sleep when Caroline's sleepy voice sounded again.

"Can I go tomorrow night?"

It took Sine a moment before she understood what Caroline meant but then she mentally sighed but outwardly smiled. "Yes, you can go tomorrow night."

"Thank you." The girl's voice drifted off on her last word and it carried on into her sleep.

Sine watched Caroline's back as she slept for a few moments more, not wanting to think of her dream, not wanting to think of all the descendants she'd not been able to protect from hunters. Of course, as sleep crept over her as well she found it harder to not let her mind wander.

The dream had been from the 1970's, during one of Sine's hibernation periods. The girl had been stolen from her family and "raised" by a group of men and women who'd considered themselves scientists but were in every fashion torturers. When Sine had finally awakened in the late 1990's it had been the girl's brother who'd told her everything; she typically kept her distance from her descendents, preferring to let them live without her influence over their lives, but the family had contacted her in desperation. They'd not known if the girl was dead or alive and needed her to find out.

Using the blood ties—as matriarch hers were much stronger than any of the others—Sine could always locate a descendent and she'd used that to find the girl, now a broken woman. It was from that woman that she'd received the dream and it was from that woman that Sine wished to keep Caroline. While she was not wholly evil there was a darkness inside her, nurtured by the men who'd stolen her and who she'd later killed, a darkness that had a tendency to swallow up all others around her. If she could spare Caroline from that darkness she would.

Ironic that she felt that way and yet she had every intention of taking Caroline back into a house owned by a vampire.


	4. Rumors of Fire

_Again I only own the OC's. If you're wondering when Eric and Sookie will arrive don't worry, they'll come. Sookie is still in fairyland at this point and Eric is dealing with Fangtasia crap. Please let me know what you think._

* * *

Bill looked up from his computer and glanced over towards the settee where the young Caroline sat. She had her legs drawn up under her skirt, a book sprawled in her lap. A quick glance at the floor in front of the settee, where various items for a discarded project were strewn about, had him assuming that the book was a history book. He couldn't quite tell what it was she was studying but from the items he saw on the floor he could only assume it was some battle of some sort.

It'd been a week since he'd first extended the invitation to Miss Lindsey, or Sine as he'd begun thinking of her after a few days of this change, and in that time span Caroline had come to his study near every night. He hadn't asked if the sitter still offered problems for the two of them, he hadn't had to in fact; from the way Caroline made herself comfortable in "her" corner of his study and how she at times took to wandering around behind both he and Sine during the nightly walk thrus, he could only assume it was her preference to be there and that Sine had given in.

As if sensing his momentary distraction from his own work, the girl looked up and fixed him with a serious yet curious expression, "Did you fight in the Revolutionary War Mister Compton?"

"Why no, I did not." Bill smiled at her. "But my grandfather did. He fought at the battle of Saratoga in fact; my father said that my grandfather was present when General Burgoyne surrendered." He glanced down at the book in her lap then back up to her face. "Is that what you're studying?"

She nodded, "Yeah." She shut the book and scooted forward on the cushion until her legs dangled off towards the floor. "So if your grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War then that would mean that you were alive when the," she frowned and scratched her head for a moment, "when the," she continued to frown and Bill had to hide a smile when the girl heaved a heavy sigh and reopened the book, flipped through a few pages, sighed again, then shut the book and looked back to him, "when the Civil War was fought."

"Yes. That is an awful lot of information you're reading about there. Did Miss Lindsey assign that to you?"

"Yes and no. She said I could choose which part of history I wanted to learn more about this week and I chose the Revolutionary War but," she gave him a small smile, "could you tell me about the Civil War?" She inched forward again, the book completely forgotten. "Did you fight in it?"

Bill felt a mixture of things in response to her question. While he wanted to satiate the girl's curiosity, at the same time he didn't want to divulge too gory of details of what life was truly like back then. There were plenty of good memories he could relate to her but just as many painful ones that he could fall into accidentally, including of when he was turned. He wasn't sure he wanted to be left alone with her curiosity if he had to talk about a topic that could easily turn very personal very fast.

He was saved from answering by the door being thrown open. Jessica came in, obviously flustered, but stopped just shy of his desk when her eyes fell upon Caroline.

"Who's that?" She asked.

Caroline answered for him, "I'm Caroline."

Jessica stared at the girl a moment longer before she turned back to Bill for further clarification.

"She's the architect's ward." When he offered no further explanation as to why he'd allow the girl in his study, or why she looked so at home as well, Jessica shrugged before throwing herself into the chair opposite him. Sensing that she needed to talk about personal issues, and issues that no young child should hear about quite yet, Bill turned to Caroline. "Caroline, would you be kind enough to go find your guardian and inform her that I will need to do the walk thru much later tonight, if that isn't a problem. If it is then let her know you two may leave and I'll see her tomorrow."

Caroline looked between the two of them in a strangely aware fashion before she nodded and scooted the rest of the way off the settee and disappeared out the door.

Bill returned his attention back to Jessica, "Now Jessica, what seems to be the trouble?"

* * *

The house was strangely quiet when Bill emerged from his study two hours later. The sounds of construction had since the week before moved to the far end of the house, well away from the study, but now even that was still. Jessica bid him goodnight and left him standing in the foyer of his home, curious as to where the workers were, as well as Caroline and Sine.

He heard a child's giggle and turned towards the back kitchen. Even as he moved towards where the construction had been taking place the past few days he heard no sound aside from faint voices and Caroline's giggling. He glanced inside the back kitchen and saw Caroline sitting on the newly refurbished countertop, her legs swishing back and forth, while Sine stood in the middle of the kitchen. He was taken aback for a moment, the juxtaposition of a professionally dressed woman standing in his kitchen with a pot on her head, its lid in one hand while brandishing a wooden spoon as a weapon in the other, was near too much for him to not laugh at immediately and give away his presence.

"What happened next?" Caroline was asking, not any more aware of his presence than Sine.

"Well Brodar didnae ken what to do once we started attackin'. He and his men had ne'er seen the likes of us before. Sure they'd heard about us in tales from their mum's and nursemaids, but to see us alive and comin' up against them, well they all looked a bit like," Bill watched as Sine mimicked the movements of a man overcome with confusion and fear, "this."

Caroline giggled again, "Did you win the battle?"

"Aye, we did that." Bill noticed for the first time that Sine's voice was heavily laced with an Irish accent and her whole demeanor seemed to have changed as she spoke; it was stronger and more confident, almost aggressive. "Brodar and his ships were torn apart by our claws," Sine made a ripping motion with her hands, "and his traitorous men were lost to the depths of the Irish Sea." She struck a triumphant pose to signal the end of the story.

Caroline started clapping and Sine dropped the spoon and pot lid in surprise when Bill joined in as well, stepping fully into the kitchen. Recovering from her shock, she quickly bent to pick up the fallen items but her movements caused the pot to fall off her head as well and they all winced at the clanging sound. Caroline filled the resulting silence with giggles while Sine chased down the rolling pot and Bill stooped to pick up the spoon and lid.

"I didn't realize you were standing there Mister Compton." Her accent was neutral once more and when he stood, hands full of spoon and lid, he saw that her demeanor had returned to what he'd grown accustomed to as well, quietly assured but not at all as it had been while she'd been telling the story earlier. "I hope you haven't waited long."

Bill moved to stand beside Caroline and reached past her to put the lid and spoon in the sink. "Quite the contrary, Miss Lindsey, I hope you haven't minded waiting for me. Though I did tell Caroline that-"

"I told her Mister Compton." Caroline interrupted him with an enthusiastic nod of her head. "She told me to sit tight while she finished giving the men instructions."

Bill smiled, "Instructions? Where are the workers? I noticed that it was quiet."

"Tomorrow is Lá Bealtaine, a bank holiday in Ireland. I know we aren't in Ireland but the majority of the crew has been working nonstop for the past few weeks and I wanted to reward their dedication with a wee break." A small lilt still carried on in her voice as she explained and Bill found that he liked the lilt more than the neutral accent she typically used.

"Ah," he reached out for the pot and he noticed only a slight coloring on her cheeks when Sine handed it over a moment after, "was that the story you were telling Caroline?"

Sine looked up at him in surprise, "What?"

"Brodar and his men drowning in the Irish Sea, is that what Lá Bealtaine is about?"

"Oh no." Sine smiled and shook her head. "Lá Bealtaine is known over here as Beltane's Night. It marks the beginning of summer, when the cattle are driven out to pasture and the crops are beginning to ripen. Typically there is a large fire and everyone gathers around to sing and dance and make merry." He saw her eyes dart towards Caroline before returning to his face; he got the impression that there were deeper connotations to 'merry' than she cared to admit given present company. "The story I told her was about the battle of Clontarf, between the Norse and Irish forces off the Isle of Man."

"I don't think I've heard of that battle." He leaned against the counter beside where Caroline still sat. "When did this happen?" He was idly curious if the great Viking Eric Northman had been involved, and if so, what a pity he hadn't been amongst the men who'd met their watery graves.

"1014," Caroline interjected before Sine could respond, "Sine said she was-"

"Mister Compton, I'm sure, has other things to attend to other than my storytelling." Bill noticed a tense stare pass between the woman and girl. "Why don't you go pack up your stuff while I walk him through?"

Bill pushed away from the counter and offered the girl his hands. She eyed them for a moment before she accepted them and allowed him to help her down from the counter. Caroline left the room without another word. He was curious how the mood between the two of them had changed so quickly from jovial exchanges to silencing commands.

"Are you ready Mister Compton?" Sine's voice brought his attention back.

He nodded and followed her through the house as she began to point out the modifications he'd requested as well as her own newer installments. He listened as she continued to point things out, yet his attention kept returning to her earlier story as well as Sine's abrupt interruption of Caroline's enthusiastic response. Definitely much more to the woman before him than met the eye and he had the strangest feeling that the story she'd been telling earlier was a strong clue, if he could only recall the snippets of details he'd been privy too.

"Mister Compton." Her questioning voice alerted him, again, that his mind had wandered. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh yes, Miss Lindsey, everything looks great. You've still yet to disappoint me." She smiled and nodded, her hands lightly clasped in front of her. "I'm curious," he continued after a quiet moment during which they both looked around the room, "are there any Beltane fires in these parts to your knowledge?"

She looked at him in confusion before it seemed that her mind made the connection and she shrugged, "There aren't a lot of Irish descendants in these parts. Most of them are further north. Around here you'll find more French and they were ne'er the best of friends with the Irish, truth be told." The lilt again peeked through her voice and he smiled in response. "I didn't bother to look of course, but I'd wager it a safe guess that there will be no fires around here."

"You said there is always a big fire with singing and dancing and merry making?" He saw the slight flush of color return to her cheeks once he finished the sentence, his voice having purposefully dipped lower on the last two words. "Are there any other specifications?"

"Plenty of ale, plenty of dancing, plenty of food, and plenty of wood." Her eyes widened slightly and it took a moment before he caught the accidental innuendo himself. She coughed and he hid his smile. "That's pretty much all that's needed."

"Do you think you could get word out to all your workers to come back here tomorrow night?"

Sine frowned, "But I gave them the night off, Mister Compton."

"I know," he continued to smile, "but do you think they would return if it was for this Beltane fire you spoke of?"

Sine was quiet, her expression changing from confusion to shock, "You wouldn't need to do anything like that Mister Compton. You are a very busy man and you-"

"I have seen how hard you have worked, Miss Lindsey, as well as your crew. You are at least a month ahead of schedule as it is and if you keep up this pace you'll be finished well before the deadline we agreed upon. Please allow me to extend my own gratitude by hosting a small party for you all."

"Can we have marshmallows?" They looked over to find Caroline standing in the hallway, her bag draped over her shoulder, eyes big with pleading.

Sine looked between Caroline and Bill before she sighed, a wry smile upon her lips, "If you insist Mister Compton, I cannot stop you from hosting a party in your own house. But please understand that-"

"That I need not go through the trouble, yes I understand that Miss Lindsey. But you must also understand that it is no trouble." He turned to Caroline and offered her a broad smile. "You may certainly have marshmallows," he glanced over to Sine, "if Miss Lindsey says you can."

Sine gave another sigh, "You can have marshmallows. Now let's get out of Mister Compton's hair." She made a shooing motion with her hands to get Caroline moving back towards the door. "Would you like me to pick anything up or do anything to help prepare for the party?"

"Bring the marshmallows." He nodded towards Caroline's retreating back. "I'll take care of the rest." It'd be good practice for ordering around the lackeys he now seemed to have endless supply of since he was the king. "Have a good evening Miss Lindsey."

She smiled, "You too Mister Compton."

Once they were gone, Bill was reminded even more strongly of just how empty the house truly was with just him in it.


	5. Southern Charm

_If you're hoping for blood and guts and gore then this will not be the story for you. Yes there will be violent moments but for the most part I will be focusing on the relationships between characters, both OCs and canon. I do not own the canon characters of timeline, I do however own my OCs. If you like my OCs or their backgrounds and care to use them in your own stories feel free to, just link me to the story so I can enjoy as well. Cheers._

* * *

"Remember," Sine tugged the last of the bags out of the back of the car before nudging the door shut with her hip, "not a word about you know what."

Caroline rolled her eyes, "Not a word. Although, I don't understand why." She began to ascend the steps to the mansion, her arms equally full of items for the party making her movements more sluggish than normal. "You'd think vampires, if they're so old, wouldn't have a problem with-"

"Not a word." Sine quickly cut her off, not sure if Compton was awake yet—though it'd be terribly early for him since the sun had yet to go down, perhaps another two hours in fact—or if there was anyone else lurking about. Sam, whom she'd invited, and the workers wouldn't arrive until at least an hour after sundown and so it was most likely that they were alone, but she hadn't survived this long by throwing caution to the wind. "And even if they are old, only the oldest vampires would even have an inkling of our existence, and even then the likelihood of any of them having seen us is small."

Caroline waited until Sine jostled the bags around and managed to unlock the front door before she asked her next question, "Why?"

"Because those who saw us had a tendency to die, either of fright or by our hands." Sine stood back and allowed Caroline to precede her down the hall. "I don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves, and broadcasting such things would do just that."

"Because of me right?" Caroline dropped her armload onto the table by the kitchen door before going to a cupboard and pulling out a glass with the intention of getting water. "You don't want to bring too much attention to us because of what happened to me?"

Sine placed the last of the bags on the kitchen table as well. She glanced over her shoulder at Caroline, who now stood leaning against the cupboards, her gaze neutral though her eyes calculating. There would be no successful lying to the girl, Sine knew that, and so she sighed and nodded. She began unpacking the bags, full of marshmallows and various other food items the guests would enjoy, as she spoke.

"I also don't like to broadcast my past for my own sake. After each transformation I have to create a new identity and while I've had plenty of practice it is still a nuisance to do so, especially if I can avoid it."

Sine heard Caroline place the cup on the counter then saw the girl come up beside her and set about organizing the foodstuffs on the table according to size and color. They worked in silence for a few minutes, getting out platters and plates to help arrange the things on, until all that they'd brought was set up properly and could be taken into the dining room. That portion of the house was complete and this would be the first "dinner party" held in the near finished renovated mansion.

"Do you have family?" Sine stopped in her movements to pick up one of the heavier platters and turned to face Caroline fully. "I mean is that also why you don't like to talk about what you are with other people?"

Sine contemplated the logistics of lying but then shook her head to herself. She was going to be stuck with Caroline at least until she was of legal age and thus she was going to be much like family to her, even if she didn't want her to be. There should be no secrets between them. She'd brought this upon herself by saving the girl but she had to see it through; she never half-assed anything yet.

"Do I have descendants yes, but I have very little contact with them." She picked up the platter and moved from the room, knowing that Caroline would follow with her own platter as well. "I try to let them live their lives without my influence over them. Most of them know of my existence but many see me as folk lore and I'm content to leave it that way unless I have to step in and help them with something drastic."

"Are they like you? I mean are they as powerful as you?"

Sine smiled to herself, surprised at how much easier the answers were coming now that she'd accepted the girl's curiosity. "They are not pureblooded. The Halflings are the most powerful but most of those have died, though a few are still alive, but they do not have the same lifespan as us purebloods. If they had children then the blood and powers would be even more diluted, and so forth and so forth, until you have the current generation where only a few have some abilities but most merely have stronger constitutions than the average human."

Caroline set about arranging the platters on the table while Sine returned to the kitchen to grab the last of the things they brought. She knew Compton said to only bring marshmallows but she couldn't do the minimum, never had been able to only do the minimum in fact. They'd brought a cheese platter with crackers, fruit platter as well, as well as marshmallows and cookies. The best that the local supermarket could provide.

"So that means you had husbands right?" Caroline asked as soon as Sine came back into the dining room.

Sine laughed, "I have had only three husbands but many lovers. I had all my children with my first husband." _Daenig. _She paused in her movements for just a moment as the wave of memories crashed over her. His devilish smile, his calloused and powerful hands on her body, his gentle yet steely nature, the smell of earth and smoke in his hair. They'd had a beautiful life together and he'd not complained about his aging and her lack of it; he'd accepted her as only a man of those magical times could, and had taken her secret to his grave.

"How many kids?" Caroline was asking, perhaps a second time, once the memories faded and Sine was back in the present.

"Six." Sine shook herself a bit to further bring herself back and allowed Caroline to help her set the rest of the stuff on the table. "Four girls and two boys. Only two of the girls are still alive. But they all went on to have their own children, and they had children, and so on. I reckon my descendants number in the high hundreds by now. We rarely have one child at a time; I carried the four girls first and then the boys last."

A knock at the door had them both jumping, startled from the discussion. Sine frowned and motioned for Caroline to go back to the kitchen while she ventured to the door. She was greeted by an army of attendants, all armed with decorations and food and fire starters and etc. The leader of the pack was a young man, armed with a letter of instructions written by Compton himself. They'd not wasted time on introductions and had all but pushed past Sine in their haste to get to work.

As the house began to buzz with preparations, with the young man barking orders, Sine and Caroline barricaded themselves in Compton's study—one of the only areas not under attack from the newcomers. Compton hadn't been in jest when he said he'd take care of everything else the night before. Sine had to fight a slight surge of embarrassment over the fact that the attendants had cleared away their platters and put them in the back kitchen before putting out their more elegantly displayed hors d'oeuvres. Perhaps she should have just gone with the minimum.

"Do you have any siblings?" Caroline asked.

Sine glanced towards the girl at the opposite end of the settee, history book in her lap and legs curled up beneath her. For once she wore trousers instead of a skirt, with a long-sleeved shirt. Sine also wore casual clothing, opting for jeans and a plaid shirt instead of her usual work attire. Caroline, sitting there, held no look of judgment and no contempt or fear, discussing the strange peculiarities of Sine's existence as if they were discussing the weather. This only encouraged Sine to be more forthright with the girl, in hopes that she would forever maintain this mindset—even if she had to witness Sine's more brutal nature in case of attack.

"I do. Two brothers and two sisters." Sine looked back down at the book she'd picked up from Compton's library. It was written in Latin and while she was rusty she could make out the majority of the story. "One of my brothers is in Canada, the Northwest territories I believe, the other somewhere in South America, in the middle of the rainforest no doubt. One sister is in Antarctica and the other is in Australia."

"Why Antarctica?"

Sine smiled and didn't bother to look up, "If you wanted to sleep undisturbed for years and years a time where would you go?"

"Antarctica would undoubtedly be my destination of choice in that regard." Sine stiffened and looked over her shoulder to see Compton standing at the doorway. The man was entirely too silent for his own good. "Although I much prefer warm places to cold so I might opt for a desert."

"Antarctica is a desert." Caroline piped up and Sine was thankful for the girl's tendency to effuse conversations with factoids; she hoped this one would distract Compton away from the deeper details of what he'd overheard. "It is the biggest desert in fact. It never rains there so it's a polar desert."

Compton closed the door behind him and came more fully into the room. He stood just beside the armrest against which Sine was leaning, making her very much aware of his presence, and his smell. While all vampires had an underlying musty scent about their bodies they also typically carried in their scents an element that conveyed what time period and place during which they were turned. Compton smelled of tobacco leaves and tilled earth, with a slight minty flavor thrown in. Even when he put on cologne, as he had this evening, she could still detect these scents beneath.

"Is that so?" Compton was saying now, his tone of voice mildly amused. "I'd never really thought of that before but it does make sense now that you mention it. A polar desert." She glanced up at to see him smile at Caroline. "Quite fascinating."

There was a knock at the study door and they all turned their attention towards it to see the young man from before poke his head in, telling them that everything was ready and that the guests were arriving. Compton turned his attention back to the pair of them and offered Caroline his hand.

"Shall we?"

Caroline giggled and took his hand, obviously flattered over the attention. Sine closed the book and scooted to the edge of the cushion. She stopped when his other hand moved into her line of sight. She looked up and saw a mischievous smile on his lips, a near matching one on Caroline's as well.

"If you're about to say something along the lines of, 'there is no need Mister Compton,' then don't say anything at all." He kept smiling at her, his hand still steady in the air between them. "I believe I've heard it enough times from you to hear it in my sleep."

Sine chuckled at that before finally accepting his hand and allowing him to help her up. Instead of letting go once she was up, however, he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and led her and Caroline out into the foyer as a true Southern gentleman would. She couldn't help but feel utterly charmed.


End file.
